Borghese Gallery and Villa Borghese

In Cardinal Scipione Borghese's villa, surrounded by the great park, are some absolute masterpieces: Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Apollo and Daphne and Rape of Proserpina, Antonio Canova's Pauline Borghese and many paintings by Caravaggio.

Did you know: In Apollo and Daphne, Bernini shows marble turning into leaves and bark — look at the nymph's fingers becoming branches. Visits run in time slots with reservation: book well ahead on the official website.

✦ The legend: Cardinal Scipione Borghese wanted Raphael's Deposition, which hung in a church in Perugia. Unable to buy it, in 1608 he had it taken down by night and carried to Rome; the city protested, and Pope Paul V — his uncle — closed the matter by presenting the Perugians with a copy. The painting is still here, and the way it got here is still told exactly like that.